Bed-cover support.



H. P. JONES.

NOW BY DEGREE 0F DIVORCE H. P. WASH.)

BED COVER SUPPORT. APPLICATION FlLI-.D MAY 13.1915.

1,175,526. Patented Mar. 14, 1910.

fix. an II HELEN PAULINE JONES, (NOW BY DEGREE 0F DIVORCE HELEN PAULINE WASH,) OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

BED-COVER SUPPORT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 13, 1915. Serial No. 27,753.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HELEN 1?..JONES, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bed-Cover Supports, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to supports for bed covers and more particularly to devices for supporting the bed-covers adjacent the feet of the occupant of the bed, and has for its object to provide a cheap and adjustable device of the character described that is simple and efi'ective in operation, whereby the bed-covers adjacent the feet of the occupant of the bed may be supported in an elevated position away from the occupants feet and upturned toes when he is lying on his back.

Another object is to provide a device of the character described which may be adjusted to meet the requirements of the comfort of the occupant of the bed and to the thiclmess of the mattress.

Further, the present invention provides a device whereby the covers may be supported away from the feet of the occupant of the bed or may be adjusted to permit said covers to lie substantially level upon the bed.

The present invention, moreover, consists in the arrangement and combination of parts more particularly set forth in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

In the case, for instance, of a patient, the nature of whose illness or injury requires him to lie in bed on his back with the toes of his feet turned up, it has been found that the weight of the bed-covers resting-upon his toes in the ordinary arrangement of covering the patient causes great annoyance, and, in fact, when required to be endured for a great length of time, causes actual torment to the patient and becomes unen durable. By means of the present invention, the bed-covers adjacent the patients feet may be supported inan elevated position away from contact with his feet and upturned toes without uncovering the feet or the'body of the patient, thus providing him with the protection and warmth desired without the annoyance and torment of supporting the bed-covers with his toes.

An advantage of the present'invention consists in that the devicemay be operated to support the bed-covers in an elevated pos1t1on, as described, or, if desired, it may be operated to permit the bed-covers to lie upon the feet, and, in case the bed is unoccupied, the device of this invention will perm t the bed-covers to be disposed upon the bed in a substantially level position without removing the device, thus giving the unoccupied bed the'neat, trim, and even appearance desirable in a made up and unoccupied bed. I

It is, of course, understood that the device of the present invention may be used not only for the beds of the sick or injured in hospitals or elsewhere, but, also, may be used in connection with beds in homes, hotels, and the like for the comfort of well occupants. a

In the accompanying drawings forming part of the-specification, wherein like numbers of reference denote like parts whereever they occur, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device embodying the present invention in position adapted to support the bed-covers elevated away from the feet of the occupant of a bed; Fig. 2 is an end view in elevation of Fig. 1, on a reduced scale, showing the device in use in connection with the bed-covers of a bed and'an occupant lying the bedon his back; Fig. 3 .is a fragmentary perspective view, on an enlarged scale, looking at an end of the device with the movable cover-supporting member in an unstable position preparatory to adjusting said member to the stable position shown in Fig. 1; Fig. dis a sectional view, on an enlarged'scale, on the line 44,

Fig. 1, showing also in dotted lines the un--- stable position of themovable cover-supporting member depicted in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view of the device showing the movable cover-supporting member dropped from the dotted line position to the position adapted to support the bedclothes in level position on anunoccupied bed; and Fig. 6 is a-fragmentary sectional view, on an enlarged scale, on the line 66,

Fig. 1, showing in detail the construction 'of a support for rigidly holding the movable cover-supporting member in upright position. I

Base-plate 1 may have one side attached in swinging or hinged relation-to bar 2 by any suitable. means, such, for instance, as by means of the pivotal attachments 3, and each end of said bar 2 may support an upright or standard'4. Back-plate 5 may be slidably supported at opposite ends. upon said standards 4, said ends of said backplate 5 being preferably provided with hollow members 6-, which members are adapted to receive said standards slidably therein, and locking means 7 may be provided borne by said hollow members, said locking means being adapted to engage said standards to lock said back-plate 5 in any desired adjusted position along the height of said standards, said standards being preferably provided with notches or the like (not shown) adapted to receive an end of said locking means, said locking means being of any suitable construction, such for instance, as the thumb-screws 7- shown in the drawmgs.

Top-plate S'is borne adjacent the upper edge of back-plate5 in hinged and slidable relation with said back-plate, so that, for the pu'rpose'of this invention, said top-plate may be-swung to a substantially vertical position, shown in F ig.'3, and then dropped downwardly for a suitable distance adjacent .a wall, of said back-plate, as best seen in Figs, 1, 2, and in the full lines of Fig. 4, and, also, so that said top-plate may be swung from the position shown in Fig'.- 3 and in the dotted lines, Fig. 4, in the are indicatedby the arrows in, said Fig. 4 to the position shown in- Fig. 5, wherein said top-plate lies substantially horizontal to base-platel and substantially at a rightangle to back-plate5. For attaching said top-plate-S in hinged and slidable relation to said back-plate 5, one ormore looped straps 9 may be provided borne by backplate 5, each of saidstraps being adapted to receive within its looped portion a corresponding-pintle 10, each pintle being borne by top-plate 8 adjacent an edge of said topplate and being adapted to extendacross the mouth of an opening 11, best seen in Fig. 3, there being as many of said openings 11 as there are pintles 10, said openings 'bein'g formed'by cutting away portions of the ma terial of said top-plate adjacent the pintlebearing edge thereof, and said opening being of such size, configuration, and of such depth transversely to the-length of said topplate as will permit each pintle 10 slidably to operate in the loop of said strap 9 for moving saidtop-plate to and from the position shown in Fig. 3, and in the dotted lines, Fig. 4, and to and from the position shown in Figs. 1, 2, and-in the full lines, Fig. 4, the loop of said strap extending upwardly above the adjacent edge of back-plate 5 sufficiently to permit top-plate 8 to be swung -'on its hinged attachment to andfrom the position shown in Fig. 3, and in the dotted llnes Fig. 4, and to and from the posinwaeae tion shown in- Fig. 5. To support topplate 8 substantially rigidly in the position shown in Figs. 1, 2, and in the full lines in Fig. 4, one or more braces 12 Figs. 3 and 6) may be provided borne by the wall of back-plate 5 adjacent which wall a portion of top-plate 8 lies when in the position shown in said Figs. 1, 2, 6, and in the full lines in Fig. 4, each -of said braces bearing a shoulder 13 and extending therefrom beyond the upper edge of back-plate 5 to form a space or slot between said wall of said back-plate and said portion of said brace for receiving a portion of said top-plate therein, the adjacent edge of said top-plate being-adapted to seat on said shoulder within said space or groove, as best seen in Fig.6, said top-plate being thus held substantially rigidly upright in the position shown in said Figs.

1 1, 2, 6, and the full lines in Fig. 4, said topplate being thus substantially locked against swinging movement when in said position.

Top-plate '8 may be supported in the position substantially horizontal to that of baseplate 1, shown in Fig. 5, by means of portions of said top-plate adjacent hollow members 6 resting on the top of said hollow members, the top of said hollow members being adapted to engage said portions of said top-plate in said position and providing stops to prevent the further movement of said top-plate toward said base-plate.

Base-plate 1, back-plate 5, and top-plate '8 maybe made of any suitable material, but

are preferably made of sheet metal and are of skeleton structure, as best seen in Fig. 1, said skeleton structure providing a device comparatively light in weight yet sufliciently strong for the purpose of this invention, and the free longitudinal edge of base-plate 1 may, if desired, be crimped over upon itself, as shown in the drawings, to provide a stiffening means for said plate, and, also,

top-plate 8 may be similarly stiffened by having its free longitudinal edge crimped over upon itself, or, as shown in the drawings, may be stiffened by having said edge crimped over upon a bar 13, as best seen in Figs. 4 and 5. All the parts of'the device embodying the present invention may be width of top plate 8 may be such that when said top-plate is in the position shown in Figs. 1 2, and the full lines of Fig. .4, the

upper or free longitudinal edge of said topplate will extend slightly above the upturned toes of the occupant of a bed' in connection with which the device is used, as best seen in Fig. 2. The width of base-plate 1 may be such as to extend for a short distance forwardly from the lower end of the mattress 14, as shown in Fig. 2.

In use, base-plate l is placed underneath the foot end of mattress 14 in bed 15, and back-plate 5 is preferably adjusted on uprights 4 and locked in that position by means of thumb-screws 7 so that said end of said mattress may be received in the space formed between base-plate 1 and top-plate 8 when said base-plate and said top-plate are in the position relative to each other as shown in Fig. 5. Top-plate 8 is then placed in the position shown in Figs. 1, 2, and the full lines in Fig. 4, in which position said top-plate is held substantially rigidly as hereinabove described, while back-plate 5 is held substantially upright in the space between the foot end of the mattress and the foot end of the bed by means of said foot end of said mattress on one side of said back-plate and said foot end ofthe bed on the other side of said back-plate, and, also, by means of portions of the bed-covers. 16 tucked in between said back-plate and the foot of said bed, if it is desired so to dispose of said bed-covers, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The bed-covers 16 may be disposed upon the bed and over the occupant thereof, as shown in Fig. 2, the portion of said covers adjacent the feet of said occupant being supported in anelevated position beyond contact with the upturned toes of the feet of said occupant, thus permitting him to lie on his back without the great annoyance of supporting said covers upon his toes.

By means of sliding back-plate 5 upon standards 4:, the height of the upper edge of top-plate 8 in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may be adjusted within certain limits, and by means of thumb-screws 7, the parts may be locked in an adjusted position. If. for instance, when the bed is unoccupied, it is desired not to support the portion of the covers adjacent the foot of the bed in an elevated position, top-piece 8 may be slid upwardly from the position shown in Figs. 1, 2, and the full lines of Fig.

" 4 to the position shown in Fig. 3 and in the dotted lines of Fig. 4, and then swung in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 4, to the position shown in Fig. 5 thus permitting the covers to lie substantially directly upon the bed, and permitting the bed to present the ordinary appearance. when madeup, of a bed not provided with the device of this invention.

Base-plate 1 being pivotally attached to bar 4 in swinging relation thereto, said plate may be folded up against back-plate 5 and top-plate 8 when said back-plate and said top-plate are in the position relative to each other shown in Fig. 1, or when said plates are in the position relative to each other shown in Fig. 3, and when said base-plate is so folded up against said back-plate and said top-plate, the device of this invention occupies a minimum of space convenient for shipping or packing in a flat package, or a number of the devices so folded may readily be packed together one upon another in a case or otherwise packed together.

Various changes in the combination and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the nature and spirit of this invention.

I claim:

1. In a device for supporting bed-covers,

one longitudinal edge attached to said second member in hinged relation thereto, said second member being intermediate said first and third members.

2. In a device for supporting bed-covers, a bar, a pair of standards borne by said bar, a member having one longitudinal edge attached to said bar in hinged relation thereto, a second member slidably mountedon said standards, means borne by said second member adapted to lock same in adjusted positions on said standards, and a third member having one edge attached to said second member in hinged relation thereto, said second member being intermediate said first and third members.

3. A device for supporting bed-covers, said device comprising two terminal members and a member borne intermediate said terminal member, one of said terminal mem bers being supported in hinged relation to an adjacent edge of said intermediate member, and the other of said terminal members being supported in hinged and slidable relation to an adjacent edge of said intermediate member.

4. A device for supporting bed-covers, said device comprising two terminal members, a member borne intermediate said terminal members, one of said terminal members being supported in hinged relation to an adjacent edge of said intermediate member and the other of said terminal members being supported in hinged and slidable relation to an adjacent edge of said intermediate member, the strap of the hinge attachment of said slidable member being looped, said slidable member being slotted at its edge to receive said loop as said slidable member is moved to partially overlapping position in relation to said intermediate member, and means borne by said intermediate member adapted to limit the extent of the overlappable portion of said slidable member, and adapted, also, to support said slidable member and said intermediate member in substantially rigid relation to each other when overlapped.

5. A device for supporting bed-covers, said device comprising two terminal members, a member borne intermediate said terminal members, one of said terminal members being supported in hinged relation to one longitudinal edge of said intermediate member, and the other of said terminal members being supported in hinged and slidable relation to the other longitudinal edge of said intermediate member, the strap of the hinge attachment of said slidable member being looped, said loop extending in a direction transverse the length of said intermediate member, the pintle of said hinge attachment being adapted to slide in said loop in the direction of the width of said intermediate member, the edge of said slidable member being slotted to receive a portion of said loop as said pintle is moved in said'loop to slide said slidable member to partially overlapping relation to said intermediate member, and means borne by said intermediate member adapted to seat the edge of said slidable member, and adapted, also, to engage portions adjacent the edge of said slidable member to hold said slidable member and saidintermediate member in mutually rigid relation to each other when overlapped.

6. A device for supporting bed-covers, said device comprising two terminal members, a member slidably mounted intermediate said terminal members and adapted to be slidably adjusted toward and away from adjacent edge of one of said terminal members, said edge being mounted in hinged relation to said intermediate member, and looped means borne by said slidable member adapted to support the other of said terminal members in hinged and slidable relation to said intermediate member.

7. A device for supporting bed-covers, said device comprising a base, supporting means borne by said base in hinged relation thereto, a member slidably mounted on said supporting means, means borne by said member adapted to lock same in adjusted positions on said supporting means, looped means borne by said member, and a member mounted in said looped means in hinged and slidable relation tosaid slidable member.

8/111 a device for adjustably supporting covers adjacent the foot of a bed, the combination .with a bed and a mattress and covers therefor, of a member adapted to be inserted beneath said mattress adjacent the foot-end thereof, a second member borne' mamas ber and adapted to extend upwardly adjacent the foot-end of said mattress, and a third member borne by said second member in hinged and slidable relation thereto, said third member being adapted to be releasably supported in upright position adjacent the upper edge of said second member, the upper'edge of said third member, when upright, being adapted to support said covers thereon, and the upper face of said member being adapted to support said covers thereon when the third member is swung on its hinged attachment to a position substantially at a right angle to said second member.

9. In a device for adjustably supporting covers adjacent the foot of a bed, the combination with a bed and a mattress and covers therefor, of a member adapted to be said third member being adapted to be moved in said mounting to and from overlapping relation with said second member and being adapted, also, to be swung in said mounting in hinged relation with said second member, the upper edge of said third member being adapted to support said covers when said member is in overlapped position, and the upper face of said third member being adapted to support said covers when said member is swung forwardly to a position substantially at a rightangle to said second member.

10. In a device for adjustably supporting covers adjacent the foot of a bed, the combination with a bed and a mattress and covers therefor, of a member adapted to be inserted beneath said mattress adjacent the foot-end thereof, supporting means borne by said member in hinged relation thereto, a second member slidably mounted on said means adjacent said foot-end, means borne by said slidable member adapted to lock same in adjusted positions onsaid supporting means, looped means borne by said second member, a third member mounted in said looped means in hinged and slidable relation to said second member, said third member being adapted to be moved in said mounting to and from overlapping relation with said second member and being adapted, also, to be swung in said mounting in hinged relation with said second member, and means borne by said second member adapted to limit the extent of said overlap pable relation and being adapted, also, to member being adapted to support said cover support said third member substantially in when said member is swung forwardly to a rigid relation with said second member position substantially at a right-angle to 10 when overlapped, the upper edge of said said second member.

5 third member being adapted to support said In testimony whereof I hereunto ailfix my cover when said member is in overlapped signature. position and the upper face of said third HELEN PAULINE JONES. 

